


At the Christmas Party Hop

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Christmas, Community: comment_fic, F/M, Fluff, Het, Rare Pair, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 12:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8980141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: At the department Christmas party, Joe watches Caitlin from across the room until someone makes him do something about it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Theme: Christmas songs  
> Prompt : The Flash, Caitlin Snow/Joe West, "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree"  
> http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/773009.html?thread=100983441#t100983441

"You know, Joe..." There's something about the way that David says his name that has Joe turning his full attention towards his captain. Which, he's willing to admit is possibly a misnomer, considering they're at the department Christmas party, both a few drinks in, David possibly more than that. Times like this, Captain Singh turns into David, his ex-partner and friend. 

Most of the time, that's fine. But today, when he sees the glint in David's eye, he finds himself steeling himself. 

"Call me crazy," David continues, "but I really don't think your heart is in this conversation." 

Joe's first impulse is to shake his head and deny, deny, deny. Then he catches David looking across the room to where Caitlin is standing beside Cisco, Barry and Iris and he knows he's busted. 

"Which is to be expected, since your date... your very beautiful, if very young, date is halfway across the room and you've hardly spoken to her all night." David's voice is light, too light, as he raises his beer bottle to his lips. His sip allows Joe time to respond; when he doesn't take it, David lifts one eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?"

Joe shakes his head because, on the contrary, he and Caitlin are fine. More than fine, as a matter of fact. "Before I answer," he says, "is this where you ask me why I don't just buy a sports car and have done with it?"

David raises one hand as if to ward off the accusation. "I would never insinuate..."

Which is true, he wouldn't. But not everyone around the precinct has known Joe as long, or as well, or has David's self-control. "What, you think I don't know what people are saying?" Joe knocks back a gulp of his drink; he'd ordered bourbon, the good stuff and he's grateful for it now. A conversation like this requires it. "I pretend I don't hear it, otherwise you'd be locking me up on assault charges." 

Lips pressed into a thin line, David's eyes scan the room like he's looking for someone. "That reminds me... Officer McGregor's on traffic duty for the next two weeks." Joe blinks in surprise: earlier today McGregor had muttered something about Caitlin that had made Joe want to knock him into the middle of next week. He hadn't thought David knew it. "You're welcome." 

"Wait." Joe's confused, the conversation not at all going like he expected. "You're not trying to talk me out of a mid-life crisis?" 

"Talk you out of it?" David looks at him like he's insane. "When I've spent most of the last decade trying to talk you into one?" He shakes his head, seems mightily amused at Joe's expression. "She obviously makes you happy..." Something over Joe's shoulder catches his eye and he smiles, juts his chin in the direction that Joe knows Caitlin is standing. "And she's hardly taken her eyes off you all night."

Joe turns slightly, meets Caitlin's eyes across the room. He can't help his reaction; he smiles and she smiles back and he knows they must look like idiots but he doesn't care. 

Beside him, David laughs. "Why are you standing here with me when you could be rocking around the Christmas tree with the person you really want to be with?" 

Joe gives him a look. "And be grist for the rumour mill? No thanks."

"It's not a rumour if it's true," David points out. "And if people talk, so what?" He gestures towards Caitlin, isn't subtle about it. "She makes you happy. And if we can't be with the people who make us happy at Christmas, then what are we doing here?" He's got a point, Joe knows, and that knowledge must show on his face because David's tone moves from serious to teasing in the blink of an eye. "I do seem to remember you know how to cut a rug..."

All Joe can do is laugh at that expression and his feet are suddenly moving before his brain has even processed that that's what he wants them to do. The next thing he knows, he's standing in front of Caitlin and the other three have vanished from view. 

"C'mon," he says, tilting his head in the direction of the dance floor. "Let's show them how it's done." Caitlin bites her lip, even as her hand is reaching for his and they've barely taken a couple of steps together before the music changes and the band segue into the slowest version of "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" Joe's ever heard in his life. He doesn't even look for David, knows this is all his friend's doing and he knows the best way to thank him is to just play along. Sliding his arm around Caitlin's waist, he pulls her close, leads her in a not too shabby waltz if he does say so himself. She follows his lead perfectly and they move in sync on the dance floor as easily as they do off it, the two of them a perfect match in more ways than one. 

And when one song turns into two and two turns into three, Joe forgets all about the rumour mill, all about what people might be saying about him and Caitlin. 

Because when she's smiling like that in his arms, the rest of the world might as well not exist.


End file.
